Doncaster Scientific Society
Lecture on “Pre-Historic Man in East Yorkshire”
The Doncaster Museum

Mr. T Sheppard, F.G.S., Curator of the Hull Museum, lectured on the above subject on February 13th. Mr. Sheppard is well-known throughout, not only Yorkshire, but England itself, for his wide and deep knowledge of the Geology and Archaeology of the East Riding.

It is needless to say that his lecture, which was illustrated by lantern slides and specimens, was of the greatest interest.

The lecturer divided his remarks into two sections; first, he dealt with the remains of pre-historic man that are found in Holderness, which is a low-lying tract of land east of the Yorkshire Wolds, and secondly, he described the remains of primitive man which occur in the Wold area.

In Holderness the principal objects of this kind are the well-known lake dwellings at Ulrome, the earthworks at Skipsea, and various relics of great interest that have been unearthed from time to time. These were all described in detail, and the lecturer stated that undoubtedly the pre-historic objects which had been found in Holderness showed that the former inhabitants of this area were probably of a peaceful disposition – agriculturalists rather than warriors. The case seemed quite different however in regard to the former inhabitants of the Wolds. The thousands of implements of stone, flint, and bronze that had been picked from the Wolds from time to time indicated that the dwellers there were anything but peaceful. This was borne out by the presence of many remarkable earthworks, or entrenchments, which traversed the Wolds in all directions. Principal amongst these was the truly wonderful structure, erroneously called “Dane,” Dyke, which was an enormous earthwork, which was further strengthened by a ditch.

The late Major-General Pitt Rivers made a series of excavations in this earthwork and obtained quite a large collection of pre-historic implements of stone and flint therefrom. On a smaller scale, but of quite as interesting a character, are the Argan Dykes, Huggate Dykes, etc. In some instances, two, three, four, or five parallel rows of earthworks existed. A plan, showing the various entrenchments that had been detected on the Wolds through the labours of the rev. Cole, Mr. J. R. Mortimer, and others, was exhibited. But it was to the tumuli, or barrows, that Mr. Sheppard principally referred to.

The work he had recently had in catalogued the thousands of specimens in the excellent museum of local archaeology at Driffield had enabled him to speak with some authority on the significance and importance of the objects found in the Yorkshire barrows. From all times there appears to have been a desire on the part of almost all tribes, civilised or uncivilised, to perpetuate the memory of their dead. The pyramids of Egypt, the curious earth structures of North America, and even the small mounds and tombstones of our cemeteries were examples of the manner in which this had been carried out. In the Wold area the pre-historic inhabitants of this land created mounds of earth of varying sizes over the remains of their departed. In some cases, these mounds were of enormous dimensions. Frequently, however, they were ten or fifteen feet in diameter and measured four or five ft. in height. Originally, they would, of course, be higher than this.

Even in pre-historic times there appeared to have been a religion amongst the people of East Yorkshire; they had certainly an impression that the bodies of the dead would eventually be brought to life again and would exist under somewhat similar conditions to those which formerly obtained. For this purpose, food vessels, drinking-cups, stone and bronze axes, daggers, and other weapons, and ornaments – some of exquisite workmanship – were buried with the dead. There could be no question that the objects were placed in the grave in order to be at the service to the chief on his resurrection, whenever that might be. Occasionally the graves were opened and their contents exposed by the plough, by a tree being uprooted, or by other accidental means. In this way a knowledge of the nature of the mounds was obtained, which led to their being opened in a more or less careless manner, for any curios they might contain.

Eventually, however, the systematic and scientific explorations of Canon Greenwell and Mr. Mortimer were commenced, and by their work our knowledge of the mode of living of the pre-historic inhabitants of the neighbourhood was considerably increased. Canon Greenwell opened between 300 and 400 mounds in the northern part of the Wolds. His collections, which are now in the British Museum, were well described in a standard work.”British Barrows.” Mr. Mortimer had opened a similar number of barrows in the southern portion of the Wolds. His specimens are well housed in the Driffield Museum, but so far the lecturer’s “catalogue” just referred to, and numerous papers in various scientific periodicals by Mr. Mortimer and others, were the only descriptions of his work that existed. A book, however, was in course of preparation, which would be a valuable and complete account of Mr. Mortimer’s investigations.

Practically all the barrows in the East Riding were of British age. Some of them had been utilised in Anglo-Saxon and later times for internment. These “secondary” burials, however, were usually at no great depth. The burials of British date were not all alike. In some instances, the body was placed in a deep grave, and in solid chalk, and covered up with earth. In other cases, it was simply laid on the ground and covered up. Sometimes it was placed in a wicker-work receptacle, in a coffin made from the trunk of an oak, or in a stone cist. Cremation was also extensively practised, the remains being placed in huge cinerary urns of earthenware, and covered by a mound, or placed in a small hollow of clay. The remains in this latter instance were probably enclosed in a cloth or covering made of some perishable material.

The vessels found with the bodies were usually of course materials and made without the aid of a wheel. They were frequently ornamented by incisions made in the clay with the thumb-nail, the end of a twig, or a piece of cord. The vases could be roughly classified into four kinds. First, the cinerary urns just referred to. These were generally of large size, of very course material, and usually plain, or rudely ornamented. The cremated remains were enclosed in these urns, together with burnt weapons and implements. Amongst the finest examples of British ceramic art were the food vessels found in the barrows. Theses usually contained traces of food, which had been placed therein, for the use of the persons buried along with them. Drinking-cups were cylindrical vessels, which gradually tapered towards the bottom. Some examples from the Wolds were ornamented to an extraordinary extent.

The fourth type of vessel found in the barrows was the incense cup, a small circular or oval vessel, about the size of an egg. The stone implements obtained from the barrows included some of the finest of their kind that have ever been found anywhere. The magnificent hammer and axe heads occasionally found were of perfect form and exquisite workmanship, and the wonder was that the people of these days were ever able to make them with the primitive means at their disposal, Stone and flint knives, daggers, spears, and arrows were also met with. It was a significant fact that the best and finest of these occasionally had their points broken away, probably in order to prevent the graves being plundered for the sake of the valuables they contained. The bronze objects include pins, daggers, and knives. The daggers had generally been fastened to a handle, and in one example in the Driffield Museum no less than 40 small rivets were used to secure the blade to the haft. Other objects found in the graves included pins and ornaments of bone, hand-picks made from the antlers of the red deer, jet beads, buttons studs, etc. and innumerable others. Photographs of excellent examples of all these were shown on the screen by the lecturer in illustration of his remarks; several of the slides having been specially prepared for the Doncaster Society.

In conclusion, the lecturer stated that he had brought with him some of the best of the British stone and bronze implements that he could find in the hull Museum, in the hopes that they would be something new to the Doncaster Society, but he was astonished to find that the in little Museum at Doncaster there were many far superior examples. He had had a considerable experience amongst various museums throughout the country, and was pleased to congratulate the Society and the town of Doncaster on their present collection. It was certainly small, but what there was, was well arranged and carefully labelled. There was also ample material for a much larger room, and he hoped that the corporation would see their way to provide this, Amongst the specimens were some of quite exceptional value. He had particularly in mind the very fine greenstone axe head. Found near the Doncaster race-course, and presented to the Museum by Miss Godfrey. It was certainly one of the finest of its kind that he had ever seen. The collection of bronze instruments of British date was also exceptionally representative and complete. A massive silver armlet, of Anglo-Saxon age, was also a very fine example. The ancient glass-ware, old coins, keys, and other objects, part of the Cotterell-Clarke collection, purchased by the Doncaster Corporation, were well worthy of any provincial museum. He wished he could say they had such a fine set of these particular objects in the Hull Museum. The lecturer was also pleased with the collection of fossils, shells etc. It was very gratifying to him to find that the present collection, which could only be looked upon as the nucleus of a much larger one for the future, was of such an excellent character, and he hoped that every care would be taken to keep the collection of local interest. There appeared to have been too much desire on the part of provincial museums in the past to have a little of everything, and nothing in particular. This was a great mistake. The lecturer also thanked the Society for the opportunity they had given him during the afternoon of visiting the curiously excavated mound at Hyde Park. He felt sure that the building operations, etc. then in progress would reveal some Roman antiquities, and these he hoped would be presented to the deserving town’s Museum.